Reviews:
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After a release day patch, this pretty silly and unique beat-em-up is ready for the next challenger(s)
After a lean first few years the Switch has really picked up quite a number of surprisingly-diverse and excellent beat-em-ups in the past few. Whether you’re looking for something more modern, retro, or perhaps just with some unique fight mechanics there are definitely options out there for you. Jitsu Squad, thankfully, moves in its own direction as well, blending together solid play, ridiculous power-ups, and an undeniably oddball sense of humor at times that managed to make me laugh a few times in its utter over-the-top-ness. Mechanically the controls are about as you’d expect, thankfully with some added flavor special moves introduced along your way through the story campaign. Each of the 4 characters certainly have some commonality to them, making it relatively easy to try each of them out, but also possess quite a bit of their own flavor, whether in their base moves, their alternative weapons, or their screen-clearing specials. If you really want to tackle the full challenge and get to an even higher level of success you’ll appreciate some of the nuance, encouraging you to pause between hits in your combos so as to deal even more damage. While a Day 1 patch thankfully resolved a number of technical issues and glitches I originally saw in play, there are some lingering but minor points I wouldn’t mind seeing resolved at some point. First and foremost would be that the character catch-phrases are said far too often, with Jazz in particular carrying on a bit too much for his own good when you’re playing the game for over an hour. Second, there’s a tendency with boss fights to spike in difficulty very rapidly from the fighting in the stage to that point. I can understand a desire to make your big wins a little tougher to earn, but muddled battles make for some frustration at times. All in all, it’s a very stylized brawler that offers up some entertainment if you’re willing to persist.
Justin Nation, Score:Nindie Choice! [8.3]